


Chasing After Picture Perfect Sound

by CaptainLeBubbles



Series: The Hallmarks of a Family (Hallmarks AU) [5]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Gen, also penny uses the l word (not lesbians)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:02:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23178907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainLeBubbles/pseuds/CaptainLeBubbles
Summary: Tomorrow, Mercury is making one last move.Tonight, he and Penny have one last moment.
Relationships: Mercury Black & Penny Polendina
Series: The Hallmarks of a Family (Hallmarks AU) [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1200967
Comments: 5
Kudos: 26





	Chasing After Picture Perfect Sound

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this is the first of the actual planned shorts (as opposed to the microfic I tossed up recently). I still haven't finished writing all of the shorts on my list, because I kept adding more and now I'm up to eleven, but once I'm past the one I'm starting now they won't take that long.
> 
> But I'm tired of "I finished writing this bit" not meaning "yay, time to post the next thing!" so I'm gonna go ahead and start posting them ahead of time. Also because I don't want to be writing the short I'm up to now.

-/-

It took a few weeks to get everything sorted out about transferring custody of Mercury over to Hazel, but almost a month later, toward the end of January, it was finally that time. Hazel would arrive the next morning to pick Mercury up and take him away forever, but tonight, James was taking him, Penny, and Winter out to the Slicery (after confirming that, yes, the Slicery had menu items he could actually eat) for his farewell feast (so to speak).

Penny was showered and dressed in her cutest new dress, the one with the skirt that fluttered when she spun around and had pockets, and now she bounced across the hall to show Mercury.

Almost all of his things were packed up now: James had bought him a pair of trunks, as well as a full set of luggage, just to hold everything. Only his bedding and a few essentials that needed to wait till morning remained out, but he wasn’t paying attention to any of that. Instead he had his money-box on his bed, carefully counting through the pocket money he’d been saving since he’d arrived.

She waited till he set the stack he was counting aside, and said, “What are you doing?”

He frowned down at the stacks of money, and absently handed her a newspaper ad that was sitting in the bottom of the box. There was a guitar and an amp in the picture, as well as a price in big yellow letters. “I’ve just about got enough saved up to get that,” he explained, grabbing a stack of fives and riffling through them again. “But I’m still like thirty short. Damn. I really wanted to have it paid for by the time I left. I don’t know if Hazel’s going to be as free with floating me pocket money as the General is.”

“This is what you have been saving for?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you know how to play?”

“Can’t learn until I have something to learn on.”

“Hmm.” She set the flier back in the box and hurried across the hall to grab her own money jar— it was mostly change, because Father had taught her to save her pocket change and let it add up— but there was cash mixed in with the coin. She set the jar on his bed. “I bet there is at least thirty dollars in here. I do not need it, so you may have any of it that you need to get your guitar.”

Mercury stared at her. “I’m not taking your money, squirt. If I was going to do that, I’d just ask your old man. I’ll take his money before I take yours.”

“It is just money.”

“Jesus christ.” Mercury pinched the bridge of his nose. “I keep forgetting you guys are stupid rich. It might be ‘just’ money to you, but to me it’s… a lot. I mean hell, for a minimum wage worker that’s like three or four hours of work.”

“I do not understand. I have everything I need— Father gives me everything I need and everything I want. I only have an allowance so that I may learn to manage money but there is nothing I need to spend it on. Besides, it is my money. I may do with it as I like.”

“Then buy yourself another new dress, or keep saving it for an emergency. Don’t worry about me. It’s not that important.”

“It is important to you.”

“Then I’ll manage it on my own.”

She sighed. “All right, if you insist. I just wanted to do something nice for you.”

“Yeah, well, not that. I’ll take the General’s money before I take yours.”

Another sigh, and she set her money jar on the floor before sprawling on the end of the bed, careful not to jostle the pile of money he had started returning to its box. He gave her a tiny, reassuring smile.

“Look, it’s no big deal, okay? I’ll get the rest from somewhere. I’ve saved this much, thirty dollars won’t take that long. Maybe I’ll do some odd jobs for my new neighbors, or help Hazel out in the shop a bit. Emerald says he always pays her when she works for him, so one afternoon should do the trick.”

“All right…”

“Actually, I’m glad you’re here, I have something for you.” He moved over to set his moneybox on top of his desk, then reached inside and took out Puppet Emerald and Puppet Mercury. “Here, I want you to have these.”

She took both automatically, staring up at him in awe. “Why?”

“Well frankly cause Emerald thinks they’re creepy. Honestly, it’s nothing. I can make more, they’re really easy to put together. I made them both in an afternoon on a whim cause I was bored.”

She frowned. “How long would you say it took you to make both of them?”

“I dunno, like three or four hours?”

“I see. So at minimum wage, about thirty dollars worth of labor.”

She grinned up at him, glad to have found a loophole in his very own words, but he just glowered.

“Nice try. This is what we call a  _ gift. _ I made them for my own pleasure and now I’m unloading them onto you.”

“Hmm. And if I were to give you thirty dollars as a  _ gift, _ then would you be unable to refuse?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose again. “You’re going to keep on, aren’t you?”

“I want you to have nice things.”

“Okay. Okay, how’s this.” He grabbed his marker from his pocket and her jar from the floor, and made a mark on the jar, not far below the level of the change. “Here. If you can dig thirty dollars out of that without dropping below that mark, then I’ll let you cover the rest of my guitar fund. I’m not breaking your bank no matter what you insist.”

“All right!” She set the jar on the floor and began fishing around in it, grabbing the cash first— in about two minutes, she had a pile of bills- three fives and twelve ones. She scooped out a handful of quarters and counted out the remaining three dollars, then handed the pile to Mercury with a smug smile. The level in the jar had barely budged.

“Hm. I walked into that one, huh?”

“Now you have enough to get your guitar.” She beamed, and then frowned when she saw him staring down at the pile of money in his hands. “Is it really such a bad thing to accept? I just want you to be happy.”

“...I’ve never had anything that’s just mine,” he said quietly. “I’ve always had to depend on the kindness of my guardians, and what they’re willing to give me, and whenever I moved-” He broke off and gestured around at all of his luggage. “-do you know how often I’ve had to just leave things behind because I couldn’t fit them into a backpack or a duffel bag? Or just because my guardian bought it and wanted to leave it for the next kid? I even have to give my old legs back, when I outgrow them, because they’re covered by the state. But if I buy this guitar with my own money? If I pay for it myself it’s  _ mine _ and no one can take it away from me.”

“That is not very fair. You should have things.”

“If life was fair, my dad woulda never knocked up my ma. Life ain’t fair. You get used to it, after awhile.”

“Well, I believe things will be more fair for you from now on. Because Hazel loves you, and Father loves you, and Winter and Emerald love you, and I love you. And we will make sure that good things happen for you instead of bad things.”

Mercury froze, and then, slowly, relaxed a little around the edges, and said, “Hey squirt?”

“Yes?”

“You’re always gonna be my kid sister, okay? No matter what happens and where I go. Okay?”

“Of course.”

“Say it. Just- just say it for me. Okay?”

“I will always be your little sister, just like you will always be my big brother, no matter what happens and where you go, because I love you, and I will never stop loving you.”

“All right, all right. Now get outta my room, I need to change for dinner.”

-/-

**Author's Note:**

> I kept expecting openings in volume two to explain what Mercury was saving his money for, but it never managed to come up whoops.
> 
> Mercury has a guitar in Chibi, though I cannot remember if it was bass or electric and don't feel like going to check.
> 
> "Three or four hours of work" just please let me assume minimum wage has gone up by 2o32...


End file.
